Closer

Orb's path to the finish line in the second leg of the Triple Crown remains uncrowded. Normandy Invasion, the fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, dropped from contention for Saturday's 138th running of the Preakness on Sunday. Trainer Chad Brown and owner Rick Porter decided to stick with their original plan and point the horse toward prestigous races for 3-year-olds later in the summer. That leaves Orb, the colt co-owned by Baltimore County resident Stuart Janney III and Ogden Mills "Dinny" Pipps' stable, with only seven confirmed challengers at this point.

Orioles right-hander Miguel Gonzalez, who has not pitched since developing a deep blister on his right thumb May 3 in Anaheim, is getting closer to appearing in a big league game. Gonzalez threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session Wednesday, the last few without a bandage covering the thumb (he won't be able to use a covering in a game). He said he came out feeling “really good.” “The ball was coming out good,” Gonzalez said. “The breaking pitches were fine. I was pretty happy about my performance.” Gonzalez is next scheduled to pitch in a simulated game Friday afternoon at Camden Yards so that the team can best control the environment.

Garrett Atkins Age: 30 Height/weight: 6 feet 3, 215 pounds Position: Third base/first base Major league service: Parts of seven big league seasons 2009 stats: .226 average, 9 homers and 48 RBIs Notable: At UCLA, he was both a teammate and roommate of future Philadelphia Phillies star Chase Utley. The O's hope: He can rediscover his power stroke and become the type of hitter he was during the 2006-08 seasons, in which he averaged 25 homers and 110 RBIs.

Closer Jim Johnson set another Orioles franchise record Friday, converting his 35th consecutive save in the regular season (14 this year, most in the American League). That dates back to July 27th last year against Oakland. That's a pretty impressive streak, eclipsing Randy Myers one of 34 straight saves in 1997. Johnson kicked Myers out of the club record book last year as well when he set a single-season franchise record with 51 saves in 2012. You can make the argument that Johnson's stability at the back of the bullpen may be the biggest key to the Orioles' run the past year-plus.

If anybody ever wrote a Broadway musical about big-league managers, the title would be a natural: "Get Me To The Closer On Time."The way baseball is played today, every team and manager is dependent on one pitcher who can get three outs and preserve a lead. As our good friend, the late Charley Eckman, used to say, "It's a very simple game."Or is it?Sometimes the formula used to reach the desired game situation can get more than a little complicated. The maneuvering often is hard to explain.

It is said that Baltimore is one of the best baseball towns in America. Unless you're a closer.Around here, closers aren't much different than potholes. They're there to be cursed. And replaced every few years.Gregg Olson was one of the best in the business until his elbow injury in 1993, recording 160 saves before his 26th birthday, but the fans at Camden Yards treated him like he was Bob Irsay's lawyer or something. They all but booed him out of town.Lee Smith? The fans didn't get on him, but only because he happened not to be the dreaded Olson.

IF POLITICAL borders don't stop criminals, they should not impede law enforcement efforts, either. That's why it's important for Baltimore to quickly conclude an agreement that will allow the state police to conduct operations involving juvenile justice matters, traffic enforcement, fugitive apprehension and auto theft within city limits. No one should be under the impression that state troopers will suddenly flood city neighborhoods once such a pact is signed. That's not going to happen.

Race relations have never been better in this country and blacks and whites have never been closer.Obvious but it needed to be said.The bitter gubernatorial election in Louisiana last weekend between Democrat Edwin W. Edwards and Republican David E. Duke has sparked national concern over the state of race relations in this country and almost everyone's prognosis is bad.Duke, the former high muckety-muck of the Ku Klux Klan and a founder of the National Association...

Those who missed the acclaimed retrospective of Chuck Close's images of the human face when it was at New York's Museum of Modern Art earlier this year needn't despair. There's another chance, closer to home. "Chuck Close" opened last week at Washington's Hirshhorn Museum. Close has been painting the human face for the last 30 years, and about 85 of his works are on view. Some are black and white, some highly colored; some are eight feet tall; some are created by using his own fingerprints.

The Orioles already need to add a proven 100-RBI man and at least one starting pitcher. A team can plug only so many holes in a single off-season. If Gregg Olson is lost for 1994, the possibilities are almost too frightening to consider.Maybe now fans will understand how lucky the Orioles were to land Olson with the fourth pick of the '88 draft. Suddenly, the team is in an awful quandary. Replacing Olson would be nearly impossible. But keeping him would be no bargain, either.It's difficult to imagine a club risking the loss of its all-time saves leader just after he turns 27. But that's the worst-case scenario for the Orioles with Olson a candidate for career-threatening elbow surgery.

UMBC's 13-12 win at Stony Brook last Saturday propelled the team closer to its 10th consecutive appearance in the America East tournament. The Retrievers improved to 5-6 overall, but - more importantly - 2-1 in the conference and a second-place tie with Hartford (6-5). Both teams trail No. 14 Albany (9-3 overall and 3-0 in the league), but are one game ahead of the Seawolves (6-6, 1-2) and Binghamton (5-6, 1-2). “It was a big win for us in a number of ways,” coach Don Zimmerman said Monday afternoon.

More than three years after first filing for a liquor license transfer and almost two years after opening their restaurant, the owners of Meet 27 are closer to overcoming opposition from a small group of neighbors. The decision, from the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, went largely in favor of the Remington restaurant, which has been embroiled in what the court described as a "long-running dispute between a Baltimore City restaurant and its neighbors. " The court disagreed with a lower court ruling that went the neighbors' way.  The upper court determined that the Board of Liquor License Commissioners of Baltimore City, commonly known as the Baltimore City Liquor Board, was within its rights when it granted the transfer to Meet 27 in August 2010 after first denying it two months earlier.

Forever a cut above Phil Rogers Chicago Tribune Let's be honest. Luis Gonzalez didn't exactly smoke his single off Mariano Rivera in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. He fought off a cutter and fisted it just out of Derek Jeter's reach. But that's the Rivera appearance I think of first when I think about his great career – one time he failed, not any of the 42 times when he nailed down a postseason save. That's how great Rivera has been. His ability to maintain his peacefulness on the mound in huge spots, time and time again, for more than 15 years put him on a level beyond the five relievers already in the Hall of Fame – Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Hoyt Wilhelm, Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter, back in Baltimore Monday evening to be honored as the Baltimore Sun Marylander of the Year, told a group of local business leaders that former Orioles closer Gregg Olson is planning on joining the team to help with spring training instruction. Olson, who was the Orioles closer from 1989 to 1993, remains the franchise's all-time saves leader with 160. The list of former Orioles who have helped with spring training instruction this spring include catcher Chris Hoiles, outfielder Al Bumbry and outfielder B.J. Surhoff.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Zach Clark's professional baseball career has had its share of bumps and turns, just like those long bus trips through the minor leagues as he clutched the dream of one day breaking into the big leagues. "A lot of ups and downs," Clark, a UMBC product, said with smile Thursday. "More than you'd really think. It's been a journey. " After seven years toiling in the minors, the 29-year-old right-hander finally has the feeling that reaching the majors in within grasp.

The makers of Baltimore's famous Berger Cookies were closer Monday to reopening their Cherry Hill bakery, a spokesman said. The Baltimore City Health Department closed the bakery Jan. 31 for operating without a city-issued food service license. The Health Department has no concerns about food safety after inspecting the facility earlier this month, said spokeswoman Tiffany Thomas Smith. Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has an ongoing, “routine” investigation into the bakery after a scheduled inspection in January, said George A. Strait, an agency spokesman, on Monday.

The Orioles are getting ever closer to signing pitcher Mike Mussina to a long-term contract. Mussina's agent, Arn Tellem, made a second counter-offer on a possible three-year contract yesterday and continued to narrow the gap between the two sides."

The morning after Cal Ripken passed Brooks Robinson to become the Orioles' all-time leader in hits, Cleveland Indians closer Mike Jackson was still trying to understand Ripken's new stance.Jackson watched a videotape several times yesterday of Ripken's ninth-inning foul out Friday night and said, "I haven't figured out this stance yet. He refuses to swing at any pitches away from him. It's like he's saying I'll give you that outside pitch if you throw it for a strike. And I don't see how he can ever pull the ball."

Few annual events trigger over-the-top saturation media coverage like the Super Bowl, and No. XLVII has once again demonstrated its curious effects. When so much is said, written and broadcast about deer antler spray, you know you have either gone down the rabbit hole, inside the local hunting supply store or possibly into the French Quarter after a particularly bad bender. Our favorite moments of high absurdity, however, have been reserved for the endless explorations of the Harbaugh family and any possible signs of sibling rivalry between brothers John and Jim. We won't linger on the obvious, but it's no surprise that the "Har-Bowl" or any of the other variations on the theme drew attention.

You might not want to spend a lot of time in Norway in January, but listening to a couple of hours of Norwegian music in a Howard County church sounds inviting. The Orchestra of St. John's vicariously takes you to Norway with "A Winter's Concert - Norwegian Moods," being performed on Sunday, Jan. 13 at 4 p.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church in Ellicott City. "Everybody thinks of Norway as a cold place with fjords and icy scenery, but not as one of the most important centers of music," observes Ronald Mutchnik, artistic director of the Orchestra of St. John's.